Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty pared their early gains to close nearly 1 per cent lower on Monday as surging oil prices played spoilsport amid prolonged Russia-Ukraine war.
The 30-share Sensex plunged by 571.44 points or 0.99 per cent to settle at 57,292.49. During the day, it tanked 634.85 points or 1.09 per cent to 57,229.08.
The broader NSE Nifty declined by 169.45 points or 0.98 per cent to finish at 17,117.60.
Among Sensex constituents, Power Grid, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever Limited and HCL Technologies were among the major laggards.
In contrast, Sun Pharmaceutical, HDFC Bank, Maruti, Titan and NTPC were the only gainers.
“With no significant improvement in the tensions between Russia and Ukraine and uncertainty in the Gulf region, crude prices surged leading to a sell-off in the domestic market after the recent rally. FII’s coming back to buying mode is a positive for domestic equities but a rise in bulk diesel prices and inflationary pressure are bending the domestic market,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
On Thursday, the BSE benchmark rallied 1,047.28 points or 1.84 per cent to finish at 57,863.93. Likewise, the broader Nifty surged 311.70 points or 1.84 per cent to 17,287.05.
Equity markets were closed Friday on account of Holi.
In Asian trade, Shanghai ended marginally higher while Hong Kong went lower. Tokyo was closed for a holiday.
Stock exchanges in the US closed with significant gains on Friday.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 3.53 per cent to USD 111.5 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 2,800.14 crore Thursday, according to exchange data.
